We have had guests here at our home for the past week. It has been a whirlwind week really. We've been taking them places and showing them what we can of the "England Wales North West." The weather has been dry but very cold, so we were a bit limited, but we tried our best. We live in such a beautiful part of the country here, and there was ever so much more I wanted to share with them, but the time just seemed to evaporate!

On one of the mornings that they were here I made us a delicious Dutch Baby Pancake for breakfast. It went down a real treat!

A Dutch Baby Pancake is kind of like a huge sweet batter or Yorkshire pudding! It puffs up in the oven like magic, leaving a huge hollow centre, ripe for filling with whatever your heart desires!

We like fresh berries with ours and I had picked up some lovely looking raspberries and blueberries, so they went perfectly with it.

This
is like a magic pancake. It puffs up in the oven like a cloud and then
settles when you remove it from the oven. Make sure your pan is well
heated to begin with and you will be well rewarded by a beautiful light
as a cloud delight. I serve it with fruit and syrup!

70g plain flour (1/2 cup)

120ml whole milk (1/2 cup)

2 large free range eggs

2 TBS granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

2 TBS butter

To serve:

icing sugar to dust

maple syrup

fresh fruit/berries

Place
the flour, milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt into a blender or food
processor. Blitz to combine for about 20 seconds, scraping down the
sides after 10 seconds. Let stand on the counter top or about 20
minutes.

Preheat the oven to 225*C/425*F/ gas
mark 7. Place a heavy oven proof skillet into the oven. (I use my iron
skillet) Once it is hot, remove carefully and add the butter to the
pan. Swirl it to melt the butter and coat the pan. Pour in the batter
and swirl the batter around to coat the bottom of the pan.Immediately
return the pan to the hot oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until well
puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool
slightly. Dust with Icing sugar and serve, cut into wedges with syrup
to drizzle and fruit to spoon over top.

This is a simple and easy recipe, which makes it perfect for entertaining. The fact that it is also delicious and very pretty is quite simply the icing on a very delicious cake!

It puffs up huge in the hot air of the oven! You are almost afraid that it is going to overflow, but no worries. It is supposed to do that. Its all a part of the magic of the experience. Be prepared for plenty of Oooohs and Aaaaahs when you bring this delightful breakfast to the table!

Whenever I have stale bread I want to make one of two things . . . either I want to make a bread pudding, or I want to make French Toast. Today the French Toast won out, but it's not just any French Toast . . . its Lemon Stuffed French Toast!

Lemon Curd is something I always have in my larder. It is considered a store cupboard essential! I also make my own quite often, especially in the winter months when lemons are in season! Oh to have my own lemon tree . . . sigh . . .

Yes, I am a Lemon lover of the utmost extreme! If it is lemon. I am on it!

This is so simple to make. You just make your traditional French Toast egg batter . . . you cut a pocket into thick slices of stale bread, fill the pockets with lemon curd, soak the slices in the egg batter and then cook it as per normal.

It goes very well with berries . . . strawberries, blackberries, raspberries . . . frozen or fresh. You decide!

Cut
the bread into 8 equal slized, each about 1 inch thick. Cut a pocket
into each piece of bread, using a serrated knife, carefully slicing
into, but not all the way through. Spoon about 1 dessertspoon full of
lemon curd into the pocket created in each piece of bread.

Whisk
together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Dunk the stuffed
slices of bread into the egg mixture, allowing them to soak it up for
several minutes, turning to coat it evenly on both sides. You want it
saturated, but not falling apart.

Warm 1 TBS of butter and 1 TBS of oil together in a large heavy
skillet over medium heat. Cook the slices of stuffed bread in the
heated fat until golden brown and lightly crisp on one side, flip over
carefully and brown and crisp the other side. Place them onto the
prepared baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while you cook the
remainder, using more butter and oil as necessary.

When all the
toast is ready, place it onto heated plates and dust lightly with icing
sugar. Serve immediately with some fresh berries and golden syrup (if
desired.)

There are normally only two of us eating in this house and so I normally
try to cut recipes in half for us, or create dishes which are simple
and make just enough for two. It's not that hard to do really. And
you can normally multiply up with no problems at all.

I found myself with an abundance of cherry tomatoes on Saturday last and
so I decided that I would incorporate them somehow into our supper. I
also had chicken breasts. Chicken and tomatoes go really well
together. One only need to look at delicious recipes such as Chicken
Cacciatore or Chicken Parmesan to see that this is true.

This recipe goes together very quickly so I would suggest you have all
of the ingredients ready and hand before you start. The chicken breasts
are cut into two escallopes horizontally which makes for quick cooking .
. .

The cherry tomatoes are cut in half as well, for quick cooking. I saw a
really interesting and helpful little video on how to that really
quickly the other day. You can see it here. It's a slap on the forehead, why didn't I think of that kind of a thing! (It really does work!)

The tomatoes are quickly frizzed in some olive oil along with some
garlic. You dust the chicken pieces with some flour and salt and pepper
and then brown them in the same pan, along with some sage. It
doesn't take very long at all as they are only half as thick as they
normally are.

A splash of white wine, a few capers . . . . bubble bubble bubble, a
handful of chopped parsley and presto chango, you have tender moist
chicken with a delicious sauce of cherry tomatoes and capers, that will
please any meat loving man. The Toddster loves this. I always serve it
with some boiled new potatoes. It goes down a real treat, and goes
together lickety split. If you are looking for a quick, easy and
delicious supper and are feeling a tad bit lazy, this is your perfect
meal! Looks like you slaved all day, but took literally minutes.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, each sliced horizontally through the middle into two escallopes (4 pieces in total)

plain flour for dustingsalt and black pepper

2 tsp freeze dried crumbled sage leaves (NOT powdered)

3 TBS white wine

2 TBS capers, drained and rinsed (the ones in vinegar)

1 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Heat
a splash of olive oil in a large non stick frying pan. Add the garlic
and tomatoes, season lightly and fry over high heat until they are just
beginning to pucker a bit. Scoop the tomatoes out onto a plate and
set aside. Leave in the garlic.

Season the slices of
chicken breast to taste and dredge lightly with flour, patting it into
the meat and shaking off any excess. Heat another splash of olive oil
in the pan. Add the sage and cook for about a minute and then add the
chicken slices, presentation side down. Fry over medium high heat
until they are golden and then flip them over and brown the other
sides. Add the wine and return the tomatoes to the pan along with the
capers and parsley. Let it bubble up a bit and evaporate somewhat.
Cover with a lid and set aside off the heat for several minutes before
serving. The juices of the chicken should run clear. Divide between
two heated dinner plates. I like to serve with boiled and buttered new
potatoes. Simple and delicious.

I guarantee you will love this. You may even want to double it anyways! Bon Appetit!

The Victoria Sponge is one of my absolute favourite of all the cakes. There is nothing fancy about it. It is just a plain simple sponge, which when mixed and baked properly, results in a fine cake that everyone loves. If I had to choose between this and a chocolate cake, I would choose this every time. I know . . . I'm not normal, lol.

Two buttery layers put together with jam and vanilla buttercream, and then dusted on top with confectioners or caster sugar, this is the quintessential "Tea Party Cake."

It's popularity was achieved during the reign of Queen Victoria, which is probably why it is called a Victoria Sponge Cake! The ingredients in a traditional Victoria Sponge, sometimes called a Victoria Sandwich cake, are eggs, flour, sugar, and butter, and should be of equal weight; the eggs are weighed in their shell.

Truth be told however, it began as a "Nursery" cake during the reign of Queen Victoria when it was believed that children would perhaps choke on the dried fruit of a traditional fruit cake which would have been served for tea. An inventive baker came up with the Victoria Sponge for a children's teatime treat, and eventually the cake made its way to the adult tea table and the rest is history.

To finish:
3 TBS raspberry jam
buttercream to fill (optional)
icing sugar or caster sugar to dust the top

Butter and base line two 7 inch sandwich tins. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.

Cream
the butter, sugar and vanilla together until light in colour
and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, beating
well after each addition. If the mixture begins to curdle, add a
spoonful of the flour.

Fold in the flour with a metal spoon,
taking care to use a cutting motion so as not to knock out too much of
the air that you have beaten into the batter. Divide the batter evenly
between the two cake tins, leveling off the surface. Make a slight dip
in the centre of each.

Bake on a centre rack of the oven for
about 25 minutes, or until the sponges have risen well, are golden
brown, and spring back when lightly touched. Allow to cool in the pan
for five minutes before running a knife carefully around the edges and
turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled,
place one layer on a cake plate. Spread with raspberry jam and
buttercream (if using). Place the other cake on top, pressing down
lightly. Dust with icing or caster sugar and serve.

Alternately
you can bake the batter in a mini cake tin. I have a tin that allows
you to make six individual cakes. Just butter, line the bottoms and
bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Split and fill the finished cakes as above.

HANDY TIP ALERT!

For an easy way to cut small cakes, or large cakes for that matter,
perfectly in half horizontally . . . cut yourself a nice long piece of
dental floss (preferably not flavoured) that fits around the cake with
enough over hang to grip decently. Place it around the centre of the
cake, crossing the floss ends over each other in front.

Gently pull the ends of the floss and it will slide through the cake, giving you perfectly cut layers.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

We had a lovely weekend weatherwise last weekend. Salad weather. Well, I thought it was salad weather anyways. Todd was not so sure! It was nice to have drier, sunnier days however, and to me that spells Salad weather! I do love my comfort food in the Winter, but long about this time of year I start to craving salads!

This simple and easy to make salad encompasses all of the things you love about the classic BLT Sandwich.

A delicious pasta salad that encompasses all of the elements of a delicious BLT. Simple. Quick.

110g of good quality mayonnaise

the juice and zest of 1/2 unwaxed lemon

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp chicken boullion powder

black pepper to taste

100g of dry pasta shapes (3/4 cup)

( I like to use fusilli)

4 slices of streaky bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 large tomato, seeded and chopped

1/2 a small red onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 Romaine Lettuce heart, thinly sliced

1 (20g) pack of crisp bread croutons ( about 1/2 cup)

Whisk
the mayonnaise, lemon juice and zest, sugar and chicken boullion powder
together in a large bowl. Bring a lightly salted pot of water to the
boil and then cook the pasta to al dente, according to the package
directions. Drain well and then dump the pasta right into the
mayonnaise mixture in the bowl. Give it a good grinding of black
pepper. Allow to cool completely.

Toss the
cooled pasta mix together with the bacon, tomato, red onion and
lettuce. Sprinkle with the croutons and serve immediately.

Note - If you wish to make this ahead, leave out the lettuce and the croutons until just prior to serving. Bon Appetit!

If you are like me, you will hate waste. I hate throwing away food. My mother was the same. I learned my food thriftiness from her I guess. In any case, there are people who won't eat leftovers, but they don't live in this house and never have! I have a way of making leftovers taste even better than the original meal!

This is a simple casserole that really is tasty and so very simple to
make. If you can boil water and have been thrifty enough to save some
meat and some of that fabulous gravy, you can make this!

It is an adaptation of a recipe I found in a very old cookery book of mine entitled "Twice is Nice" by Edna K Damerall. I adapted it to use the leftovers I had with most delicious results!

Cooked elbow macaroni is seasoned with some herbs and then layered in a
casserole dish along with chopped leftover roast beef, sliced onions,
leftover gravy, cream and cheese.

You bake it for a little while and then you lay some sliced tomatoes on
top and sprinkle on some herby buttered crumbs and bake it for a little
while longer, with the end result being something which is very tasty,
not to mention visually appealing and quite economical.

Layer
in the dish as follows: 1/2 macaroni, 1/2 the beef, 1/2 the onion, 1/2
of both cheeses, 1/2 the gravy/cream mixture. Repeat the layers.
Loosen the mixture gently with a knife so that the sauce filters down
through the layers. Bake for half an hour in the preheated oven.
Remove from the oven and lay the sliced tomato on top. Melt the butter
and mix together with the bread crumbs and the thyme. Sprinkle this
mixture over top of the casserole and bake for 10 minutes longer, until
golden brown.

I hope that you will give this a go. I imagine you could also make it with cooked ground beef and gravy mix and it would also be quite good. Bon Appetit!

Don't you just love vanilla? I do. Just the smell of vanilla can get my tastebuds tingling and never more so than when it is being baked into a lovely, dense and moist cake such as this one!

This lovely loaf cake gives you a triple vanilla whammy! First, there is vanilla in the batter. I like to use Vanilla paste because of the lovely flecks of vanilla seed that it scatters throughout the loaf, but feel free to use regular vanilla extract if you wish. Just make sure it is pure.

Once the cake is baked, you get a second dose of vanilla by basting the still warm cake with a vanilla syrup, which gets soaked into the cake . . . kind of like a lemon drizzle, but its vanilla not lemon . . .

The third layer of Vanilla comes from the epic vanilla glaze icing which gets spooned over top of the vanilla soaked and cooled loaf . . . making for triple Vanilla yuminess!

It goes lovely with a cup of tea, herbal or otherwise. You can enjoy this beautiful loaf any time of day. I've even been known to have it for breakfast with some fresh fruit on the side. Great for elevensies, or coffee break, in lunches, or just because. You are going to love this . . . . whenever. Its quite simply gorgeous!

Sift
together the flour, baking powder, and salt into one bowl. Whisk
together the yogurt, sugar, eggs and vanilla in another bowl. Slowly
whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until incorporated.
Fold in the vegetable oil until it is well combined. Pour into the
prepared baking tin and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick
inserted in the centre comes out clean.

While the cake
is cooking, whisk together the first glazing ingredients in a saucepan
over medium heat, stirring until the mixture is completely clean. Set
aside.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10
minutes. Tip out onto a wire rack and while the cake is still warm,
pour the glazing mixture over top allowing it to soak in. Cool
completely. (You may want to have a piece of paper underneat the rack to
catch any drips and make clean up easier.)

Combine
the icing sugar, milk and vanilla paste for the final icing glaze and
pour over the cooled cake. Allow to set before cutting into slices to
serve.

I like to use the loaf tin liners that you can buy at the bake shop. They make things a lot easier. Kind of like muffin tin liners, except they are large enough to line a loaf tin. Bon Appetit!

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About Me

Marie Rayner

Canadian ex pat deliciously living and cooking in the UK. I cook and eat every day. I like to take pictures of it and then share it with you!

How I got Here

Welcome to my English Kitchen. I moved over here to England from Canada in the year 2000. Before I arrived, I was told that the cooking and food over here was awful, except for the Roast Beef and the Fish and Chips. I had no idea of what to expect, but it didn't sound good.
I landed at Heathrow with a bulging suitcase full of kitchen tools, handwritten recipes and a 4 litre can of Maple Syrup, totally prepared to be greeted with the worst.
I am happy to say that over the past 17 years I have discovered that most of what I had heard was totally and completelywrong!
Here in the UK we have some of the best poultry, meats, fishes, ingredients and produce in the world, and some of the most innovative chefs. I have learned so much about cooking in the past fifteen years, and I've enjoyed trying and experiencing many new things, thankfully most of them wonderfully delicious!
I love English food . . . both the traditional, and the wonderful blend that is modern British Cuisine . . . a delicious mixture of a variety of tastes and cultures.
I hope you'll come along with me as I explore all the wonderful tastes, sights and textures that England has to offer even the most discerning of palates.

Contact Me

If you have any questions or want to work with me, feel free to e-mail me at mariealicejoan@aol.com

Colour me Chuffed

Thank You

TWEET

Did You Know???

Make Your Own Self Raising Flour:You can make your own self raising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of plain flour.

Make Your Own Baking Powder:You can make your own baking powder by combining 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda with 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar. It's ideal for coeliac sufferers who can't find the gluten-free variety of this raising agent, but measure it out carefully because too much or too little can upset a recipe's balance.

Make Your Own Mixed Spice:You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.

Make Your Own Cajun Seasoning: Mix together 2 1/2 TBS of salt, 1 TBS dried oregano leaves (Rub to a powder using your fingertips), 1 TBS sweet paprika, 1 TBS cayenne pepper, and 1 TBS ground black pepper. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to six months.Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice: Mix together 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground mace or ground cardamom. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.